The Refuge Chronicles: Dawn
by TaintedTamer
Summary: Sora's journey is far from over. A new darkness is rising and Sora must travel through a new dimension and array of worlds to find a teen named Haku. He needs all the help he can get as new allies and old friends team together.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first of my fanfic - The Refuge Chronicles. It involves the main character of Kingdom Hearts and takes place a year or so after Kingdom Hearts 2. This is an older story that I've recently edited again, so please do excuse any errors you may find.

Enjoy.

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Episode 1

The skies were blue, with clouds lingering along the horizon, dashed with colors as the sun began to set. A warm breeze brought the sea air onto the shore, rattling the leaves of the tall palm trees that dotted the sandy beach. A bridge led to an outcropping of the island, where a large palm tree was bent nearly to the ground, its trunk curved neatly.

A boy of 15 sat up on the tree, his blue eyes towards the vast ocean before him. His spiky brown hair ruffled in the wind as he shifted slightly, moving one of his feet up onto the trunk as well.

"It all seems so long ago…like a dream…did it even happen?" Sora asked himself as he kept his gaze on the ocean, the sun light glimmering off the waves as they hit the shore.

His thoughts drifted endlessly, his eyes narrowing every now and then as he was lost in thought.

"Sora?"

Sora jumped, the voice ripping him from his thoughts. He almost fell face first off the tree as he turned and saw a girl around his age, her blue eyes showing concern as her red hair fell around her face and onto her shoulders.

"Kairi, what are you doing here?" Sora asked quickly, a little embarrassed of his reaction as he straightened his posture.

Kairi gave him her perfect smile as she pulled herself up beside him on the palm trunk.

"I saw you sitting out here by yourself and decided to bug you. What's wrong Sora? You've been really quiet of late..."

Sora let his attention drift back to the ocean, "I…I don't know. I just have been having this weird feeling of late, like something's wrong. Things seem so quiet here, I'm starting to wonder if I ever did go on those journeys with Donald and Goofy."

There was a moment of silence before Kairi looked at the ocean as well, "Sora, you went through a lot, we all have."

"Yeah, but sometimes if feels like none of it ever happened Kairi. Like things just paused here on the island when we left. It just seems to all be a dream…did it all really happen?"

Kairi turned back to Sora, a sympathetic glimmer in her eyes. She put her hand on his, causing him to look at her. She smiled, "Sora, it was all real. What you and Riku did happened…but now its over. We can live together and be happy again, like we used to be."

Sora gave her a faint smile, "Yeah…"

His smile faded, "I…I don't think it's over yet Kairi…that's what's been bothering me. Things are just too quiet and ever since that final battle with Xemnas, I've had the feeling that I missed something. Maybe there's more out there, you know?"

Kairi nodded slightly, "But, what else could be out there Sora? Didn't we win?" She inquired.

Sora narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to find a suitable answer for his friend.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and both flinched against the leaves that were blown around them. Sora looked up to see dark clouds rolling through the sky, darkening the island.

Kairi blinked, "Rain? I was hoping to go for a walk tonight, but if it starts raining we'll have to secure the boats."

The waves began to churn and toss themselves against the shore roughly, sending a spray of water into the air. Sora hopped down from the trunk, "Let's hurry and help the others then. My parents will be less than happy if our boat gets trashed again."

He ran for the bridge that connected the outcrop with the island, Kairi sliding down off the trunk and following him without question. She gave one look back at the oncoming storm before crossing the bridge.

Sora struggled to hold the wet ropes with one hand as he hung to the dock with his other.

He mumbled under his breath as he finally got the small boat to come close enough to secure it. He double knotted the tie, then stood up and glared at the darkening sky, the clouds now draping menacingly over Destiny Island. He stepped back as a wave crashed up onto the dock, soaking him. Sora shivered before he hurried off the dock, shaking himself in an attempt to get rid of some of the water that now dripped off him.

"Dang, this storm is insane." Sora muttered as he took off his hooded jacket. Another gust of wind howled, nearly knocking him over as it blasted up the shore. Amidst the roar of the wind and smashing of the waves, a voice spoke faintly.

"Keybearer…"

Sora whipped around, his eyes widening as he heard the voice. No one was nearby, and a heavy rain began to fall. Sora shivered, but whether it was from the rain or the creepy feeling the was crawling through him was unknown.

He turned, running up the beach and heading home as the rain began to fall.

Lightning flashed, illuminating the darkened island and projecting eerie shapes onto the bedroom wall through the window.

Sora lay in bed, the covers tightly over him as he slept. Thunder rumbled, shaking the house and the wind howled like an angry monster outside. Lightning streaked across the sky and threw the shape of a what appeared to be a hooded figure onto the wall…

With a jolt, Sora sat up, quickly looking at the wall. It was blank, except for a poster and an occasional shadow from outside. Sora narrowed his eyes, then shook his head, pushing away the thoughts that were in his mind.

With a sigh, he dragged a hand through his hair and glanced outside at the storm. It reminded him of the night when the islands had been lost and he, Kairi, and Riku had been separated. That's when it all started and he had learned that he was able to wield a powerful weapon known as the keyblade. But that too seemed long ago, and the memories were faintly blurred. Sora tossed the covers off of him as he hung his feet over the bed, slipping on his shoes and jacket as he stood. He grabbed the crown shaped necklace that hung around his bedpost and headed out of the room.

Outside, the storm was relentless and unforgiving, battering and pulling the islands as it sent lightning and thunder down. Sora held onto a palm tree, gritting his teeth together as the wind pulled at him, threatening to blow him away. Lightning lit up the sky and Sora could see a figure struggling to walk up ahead. He squinted his eyes, trying to see who it was. Then it hit him,

"Riku!" Sora called out.

Riku looked up, his silver hair whipping around his face as his piercing blue eyes met with Sora's.

"Sora, what are you doing out here?!" Riku asked as he pressed against the wind.

"I could ask you the same thing! This storms getting way out of hand!" Sora replied, having to shout to make himself audible over the storm. Riku stepped forward, grabbing onto the palm tree and standing beside Sora.

"Sora, I have a bad feeling about this. I don't think this storm is natural – it reminds me to much of that night."

Sora tensed.

That was exactly what he had been thinking. He knew something was wrong and maybe this storm was what he had been dreading.

Riku and Sora drew back as the wind wailed angrily, then Riku spoke, "Sora, find Kairi. I'm going to make sure everyone's safe indoors. If this has anything to do with the heartless, then we'll have a fight on our hands."

Sora nodded and with that the two set off. Sora ran along the path that lined the beach, the waves colliding against the shore again and again. Sora stopped, fighting against the strength of the wind as he resisted it.

There was a faint whisper and suddenly the wind stopped all together. Sora gave a shout as he fell forward from the abrupt release of force, hitting the ground rather awkwardly. He laid on the sandy ground for only a moment until leaping to his feet, the shock plain to see on his face. It was as if a bubble had been placed around him, for the storm still shrieked around him…but he couldn't hear or feel it.

"I see your surprised keybearer."

Sora whipped around, his hand coming down as a flash of light erupted in his palm. In a dazzling glow, the gold handled and silver bladed keyblade appeared in his hand, his grip tightening around it. A hooded figure stood a few feet in front of him, an all to familiar cloak hiding his features.

"Who are you? Are you a nobody?" Sora demanded. The figure stood still for a moment, his attention on the keyblade before he spoke.

"My identity is something you shall learn soon enough young keybearer. For you see, I have a journey for you."

Sora raised a brow, "Journey? What are you talking about? Are you the one causing this storm?"

"This isn't a game of questions, Sora. This journey shall decide the outcome of your precious home. All you have to do is accept it and I'll be glad to explain the rules."

Sora narrowed his eyes, stepping back. He didn't like this at all - just who was this guy? He held his keyblade, gave it a moments thought, then rushed towards the cloaked figure to attack. In a flicker of movement, the figure was gone and Sora whipped around only to feel the blow of the massive weapon that had appeared in the hooded figure's hand. The breath was knocked out of him and Sora went crashing backwards across the sand. He sat up, glaring at the concealed face of the man. The weapon he held resembled that of a massive spike, with several curved spikes branching off of the main towards the top. It was a dark black, with dark energy surging off of it.

"Now, lets now try that again Sora. You have no choice but to take this journey, and it starts now."

The figure stabbed his weapon into the ground and darkness seeped out. It spread quickly, stretching out across the ground. Sora stood franticly, clenching the keyblade in his hand as the darkness surrounded him. He gave a shocked shout as it came up around him, encircling him and pulling him down. The hooded figure vanished, leaving Sora alone as the darkness latched onto him.

"Sora!"

With a rush of life, the storm came back, the wind and rain coming down on him as a voice broke the silence. Sora turned to see Riku running towards him, the Road to the Dawn gripped in his right hand.

"Riku!" Sora cried, feeling the darkness crushing him as it continued to bring him down. Riku dove, grabbing Sora's hand and pulling.

"Hang on Sora!" Riku bellowed, dropping his weapon and grabbing Sora's gloved hand with both hands. Sora winced, the darkness encasing him as it continued to drag him down into the ground.

"Riku!" Sora called out.

Lighting exploded across the sky one last time before Sora felt Riku's grip slip, and he was wrenched into the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 2

"… … … wh…where am I?"

Sora's voice echoed through the emptiness, and as he awoke, he was in total darkness. Sora struggled to stand, feeling as though he had been drained of all his strength. When he did manage to stand up, he had to fight just to remain standing, his legs shaking in protest.

"Riku?! Kairi!?" Sora called out, but the voice that replied definitely didn't belong to his friends.

"They are gone keybearer. And you will not see them again for some time."

At first, confusion filled Sora's mind. But he clenched his fists,

"Tell me where they are!" He shouted, feeling some of his energy return.

A cold, bitter laugh answered him, and Sora felt his emotions boil over in anger. He screamed out into the darkness, summoning the keyblade to his hand with a flick of his wrist.

With a burst of power from the keyblade, the darkness shrank back, receding into nothingness as an enormous room was revealed. The ceiling was high above, with fancy beams stretching across its width. Strange mirrors hung from some of the beams, reflecting the cold light that had managed to sneak into the room. The walls were stone, and the floor was black marble, with a red carpet leading from a steel door that was behind Sora.

The hooded figure was sitting on a large throne like chair far ahead, his legs crossed in a comfortable position as he watched Sora.

"Impressive. That's what I like to see – that anger of yours could be put to good use with that keyblade." He said as he clapped his hands in amusement.

Sora glared, "Where are Riku and Kairi." He asked, not at all amused. The hooded figure let his hands fall onto the arms of the throne,

"They are trapped within my dungeons of darkness, waiting for their precious hero to save them. Your island is only the first of many worlds that I shall claim as my trophies…unless you stop me."

Sora blinked, obviously confused. The cloaked man stood and started slowly down the red carpet.

"You see, I want to play a game young Sora. I will allow you to save your friends, the worlds, and be the big hero by defeating me."

He paused, then continued,

"But, you will have to play my game. You will go to several worlds through my portal, live there for a short while, defeat the baddies, and then leave when I open a new portal for you."

The keyblade disappeared as Sora crossed his arms, eyes narrowed.

"So…you want me to travel the worlds through your portals? Is there a catch?"

"Yes, there is. You have to search for someone and defeat him for me during your travels. Each time you go through my portal, you will lose a part of yourself Sora, and if you don't find this boy in time, then you will eventually lose your heart to the darkness and become my slave."

Sora tensed, his gaze becoming a glare. He opened his mouth, but the man raised his hand to silence him.

"If you refuse to go through the portals, your friends will pay the price."

Sora waited, and then spoke, "What if I do find this guy and defeat him?" He inquired.

Behind his hood, the man smiled,

"Then you'll find yourself in front of a red portal. Bring him, and his companions if he has any, for the portal will lead straight to my castle – the very castle you stand in now. Then, you will be able to free your friends and save the day."

Sora was silent as he let all of this process. He couldn't find anything that seemed off…unless –

"Wait, who is he? What does he look like?"

The cloaked figure walked towards Sora, stopping mere inches in front of him.

"He has short, blonde spiky hair, lightning blue eyes, and one hell of an attitude. He should be wearing a red jacket with black flames, and a spike like marking on his right shoulder."

He gave a chuckle,

"Believe me, you'll know when you meet him, because he's looking for you too."

Sora was abit surprised by this. At first, the man's description reminded him of –

The man snapped his fingers, and a black portal opened behind Sora, darkness swirling within it. Sora quickly turned, his eyes widening as he stepped away from the portal.

He suddenly felt a hand press against the center of his back, pushing him forward.

"Go forth keybearer and be the hero once again!"

Sora shouted in surprise as the man shoved him into the portal, and darkness again surrounded him.

The man stood still, watching the portal flicker and disappear.

"Good luck keybearer, I wish to see you again." He said calmly.

It was dark and cold, and Riku shivered as he managed to sit up. His body ached, and he felt exhausted. He rubbed his head, glancing around the stone cell that he now sat in.

Then, his began to recall what had happened.

"Sora…" He said, clenching his fist. Sora had been taken into the darkness, and he hadn't been able to save him.

Riku looked up, wondering where he was. The only light came from a black flame on the wall that stood outside of his cell door and the only other thing in his cell was a bed. He stood, narrowing his blue eyes as he tried to remember what had happened, but it was all a blur.

He walked to the door and glanced through the bars, allowing him to see several other cell doors almost identical to his own.

"A prison, great."

Riku muttered as he stepped back from the door. He shook his head,

"Sora...Kairi…where are you guys?"

Light broke the darkness that surrounded Sora and he turned to face it. He winced slightly, putting a hand up to shield his eyes, but started towards it. He was nervous, even scared, about what was going on. The only thing he knew that was for sure was that he had to save Riku and Kairi and if it meant going after this blonde guy, then he would do it.

Sora stepped into the light, feeling its warmth surround him and shelter him from the darkness. The strength of the light increased and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was falling through the upper branches of trees.

The drastic change stunned him and he yelled, bringing his arms in front of him to protect his face as branches ripped and stung at him. He felt his shirt catch and his decent slowed for a moment until the branch snapped and he fell to the ground onto his back.

Sora laid there, aching from his sudden plunge through the trees. He let out a groan, rolling over onto his stomach and rubbing his head.

"Geez…he didn't tell me I would end up falling into a new world…"

Sora mumbled as he put his hand against the ground to help sit himself up. He paused, looking at his gloved hand and realizing his glove was different. It was simpler, with the fingers still cut, but a metal piece was now attached to the top of the material over his knuckles. Engraved on the metal was King Mickey's insignia.

Sora blinked, feeling his head as he felt an unusual pressure. He was wearing a headband as well and this caused Sora to stand and examine his clothes a little more. His entire attire had changed and had simplified. His strapped pockets had turned into pouches that were held against his legs by wrappings, and his usual large shoes had shrunk down to blue, toeless sandals. His shirt was now made out of fish netting, with his jacket's metal shoulder pads gone as well as the straps.

"Whoa…I like the new look." Sora said with a smile.

He reached up, untying the headband from his head and examining it in his hands. It matched his gloves, with a large piece of metal stretched across the fabric and engraved with King Mickey's insignia once again.

Sora gave it a thoughtful look, then reached back up and retied it.

"Alright, time to figure out where I am."

After an hour of walking, Sora stopped, leaning against one of the many large trees that filled the dark, creepy forest that he had wandered into. He groaned, sliding down the trunk and onto the ground into a sitting position.

"This forest is insane huge! I don't have a clue of where I am!" He complained out loud, closing his eyes and laying his head back against the bark.

'I'm all alone out here…man, I really wish Donald and Goofy were here.' Sora thought sadly.

A faint hissing sound abruptly interrupted his thoughts and Sora felt something move against his shoulder. His eyes opened and he shot to his feet, swiftly turning to see what had touched him. He relaxed as he saw it was only a snake and managed a smile.

"Man, you scared me little guy. I thought you were a heartless for a minute there."

It was a small, green snake that Sora didn't recognize, but he guessed it was harmless.

"Heh, and to think I was all freaked out over a snake." Sora joked.

Suddenly, a loud sound caught his attention and Sora went stiffened. The little snake slithered away rather quickly as Sora slowly turned. His eyes widened and he literally almost fell over as he saw what had appeared from the tree tops, making its way down the trunk of the tree.

It was another snake, only this one was the size of a freakin' house! Sora tried to move, but he was frozen stiff.

'It's a giant freakin snake!' A voice screamed in his mind. The snake locked its red eyes onto him, its tongue flickering in and out of its mouth.

'Move! Move!' Sora yelled in his mind, but his legs wouldn't move. He couldn't move his body at all, and the monster of a snake was coming straight for him.

'Oh crap! I'm going to die!' Sora thought, fear ripping through him. It flicked its tongue out again, only inches from his face, then it hissed and lashed forward. Its jaws opened, and Sora saw a flash of teeth before he closed his eyes.

"Uzumaki Barrage!"

Sora opened his eyes as a voice rang through the forest and several orange blurs came down from the trees. The snake looked up as the blurs came down on top of its head, punching and kicking wildly. The massive reptile pulled its head back angrily, trying to shake the figures off. As this was happening, another orange figure flashed in front of him and blue eyes met with Sora's.

"Hey! Move it! Don't just stand their gawking!"

The boy seemed abit younger than Sora, his blonde spiky hair and orange clothes making him stick out from the dark scenery. On his forehead was a headband similar to Sora's, only with a leaf like symbol engraved on the center.

"Now! Go go!" The boy shouted, snapping his fingers in front of Sora's face. Sora snapped out of it, nodding,

"Uh, right!" He replied quickly.

The boy ran darted forward, his speed amazing Sora as he tried to keep up. He glanced back to see the other boys that had attack the snake disappear in poofs of white smoke and the snake angrily turned, retreating into the forest.

Sora soon came to a stop, breathing heavily. He had lost the orange clothed boy, which seemed odd since he stuck out so much. Sora put his hand on his knees, trying to catch his breath when someone tapped his shoulder. He gave a yell, turning quickly.

The boy blinked and then laughed.

"Wow, you're a spaz." He said.

Sora narrowed his eyes,

"I'm not! I'm just psyched out from almost being eaten by a giant freakin' snake!" He retorted.

The boy laughed again, "Giant? That was one of the smaller ones! Anyway, you shouldn't be in here! This is the Forest of Death for a reason kid!"

He paused, looking over Sora, with his gaze resting on Sora's headband.

"Huh…I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Uzumaki, Naruto - who the heck are you?"

"Yeah, I'm…new around here. My names Sora."

Naruto gave him a bright smile, "Well Sora, nice to meet 'ya! We can chat more, but we cant really stay in this forest much longer. You're lucky I was messing around in here or you would've been snake food."

He took a few steps away, then faced Sora,

"Come on, follow me Sora!" He said, gesturing with his hands. Sora stood in place for a moment before nodding and following the strange blonde.

Naruto jumped up onto a tree root and came to a halt, turning to Sora.

"Alright, now that we're in the safe, what the heck were you doing in there anyway?" He asked, curious.

Sora gave a shrug,

"To tell you the truth, I don't really know. I just was walking around and ended up in that creepy forest. Are all the animals in there that big?"

"Nah, only the dangerous ones." He hopped down, noticing the symbol on Sora's headband.

"Hey…what a weird village symbol. Where are you from Sora?"

Sora glanced up at his forehead before looking at Naruto,

"Um…Destiny Islands."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he thought, crossing his arms.

"Destiny Islands? Weird, never heard of it. Must be a pretty small village." He grinned, the seriousness disappearing in a flash,

"Well, welcome to Konoha Sora! We're top dog here in the land of fire if you haven't heard!"

"Konoha? So that's where I am…" Sora said, trailing off in thought. He looked back at Naruto,

"Um, you don't live in this forest, do you?"

Naruto's expression blanked for a moment before he burst out laughing,

"Live in the forest?! That's funny! Of course we don't live in the trees!" He spun around, pointing ahead through the trees,

"We live in the Leaf Village! Its up ahead, and its totally huge! Best part is the awesome ramen shops!"

"Ramen?" Sora asked.

Naruto turned,

"Yeah, ramen! Don't you know what that is?"

There was a silence and Naruto shook his head,

"Man, you really do come from a small village! Come on Sora, I'll show you the village and treat you to the best ramen in the village! You're lucky I found those coupons earlier today!"


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 3

Episode 3

Sora neck began to hurt as he continued to gaze around at the new sights and smells that surrounded him as they walked through the village. It was enormous, with buildings reaching high up and with trees and plants growing on many of the older homes. But one thing he did notice were the stares and narrowed eyes that burned into him as he walked behind Naruto.

"Hey…Naruto, why are people staring?"

He whispered through a cupped hand. Naruto slowed, turning to him,

"Oh…well, it might be partly because your walking with me…but then again, it might be because of your headband. That is a pretty weird village symbol, and I bet people are getting suspicious."

"Suspicious? Should I take it off?"

Naruto shook his head,

"No, don't take it off. Hmm…wait, come here Sora."

Sora blinked, stepping closer to Naruto. Naruto reached out, pulling some of Sora's bangs out from under the headband and letting them fall over it.

"There! Your crazy hair covers the symbol enough to not draw any attention."

Naruto explained. Sora looked up at the headband, and then gave Naruto a smile.

"Thanks."

He said. Naruto nodded,

"Yeah, now people will just stare at you 'cause your walking with me. Come on, I'll give you a tour of the village! Then we can stop at the ramen shop afterwards since Kakashi Sensei is out on a mission today."

He said, gesturing Sora to follow him with a wave of his hand. Sora looked at his headband one more time before following Naruto, wondering who Kakashi was.

One thing Sora learned as he walked with Naruto was that the blonde had endless energy, but was extremely friendly. Sora couldn't even think of anyone else that had accepted him as quickly as Naruto had.

"So, this is a village of ninja, and you're a genin. The next levels are chunin…and jounin, and this Hokage is your village leader?"

Sora asked, making sure he had everything memorized correctly. Naruto nodded as he swallowed his mouthful of ramen,

"Yep! The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village! One day, I'm going to be Hokage!"

Sora smiled, taking a small bite of ramen. He actually liked the stuff, even though it had strange things floating in it. He swallowed,

"So, how do you become Hokage? How do you guys know who is the strongest, I mean do you fight each other with weapons and stuff?"

"We use jutsu to fight, but we use weapons too."

"Jutsu? Oh, you mean like that thing you did in the forest?"

Sora said, remembering how Sora had created clones of himself to fight the snake.

Naruto swallowed a rather large bite of ramen,

"Yeah, that's my Shadow Clone jutsu! It's my signature move next to my Rasengan."

He said proudly. Sora nodded, trying to understand this,

"So, are their different jutsu?"

"There are tons of jutsu! Well, I think there's three types- ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. All of them are unique, and lots of ninja have different kinds of jutsu that they use. There's even special jutsu known as kekkegenkai. Only those in that clan or bloodline can use them, which makes them special."

Sora's head hurt slightly as he tried to remember all of these words.

"Alright, I think I'm getting it. How do you use jutsu?"

"With practice. It depends the ranking and level of the jutsu, 'cause some are crazy insane hard and you have to practice for years until you can master them. But it's all about chakra manipulation that really helps."

Another new word to Sora, and his curiosity pushed him to ask.

"Chakra?"

Naruto swallowed again, obviously putting to much ramen in his mouth as he almost choked. He took a breath, then nodded.

"Yep, chakra is the energy within us, everyone knows that. Wow, your village is really out there if you don't know this stuff."

Sora shrugged,

"Yeah, we just went over basics I guess. So, do you think you could teach me some jutsu?"

Naruto finished off his ramen, stunning Sora as he added the empty bowl to the pile of empty bowls that were beside him,

"Sure! But I have to check in with Sakura and Sasuke for a short mission. We have to do some river clean up again."

He hopped down from the stool, turning to Sora,

"Do you want to come and help? I don't know if you would get credit for it, but if you come you can meet my squad. Sakura is really pretty, but she's totally falling for me, and Sasuke is kind of quiet, but that's because he thinks he so cool."

Sora took another bite of his ramen before stepping beside Naruto.

"Sure, sounds good. I don't have anything else to do."

Naruto grinned, and Sora couldn't help but smile as well. Sure Naruto wasn't what he would call normal, but he was fun to be around. Even with the strange whisker like marks on his cheeks and his random conversations, he made Sora feel happy.

"Come on Sora, the river is outside of the village. Actually, I think I was supposed to be there already, but I'll explain what happened."

Naruto leapt up with a flash of speed, landing on a rooftop nearby. Sora's jaw dropped,

"Holy – how did you do that?!"

He asked. Naruto blinked, turning and looking down.  
"Oh, its easy. I guess I'll have to teach you how to do it though…hmm. Just jump and try to keep up; use your chakra to speed yourself up."

Sora gave a sigh, wondering what chakra felt like anyway. He ran up, jumping, but only making it half way up and almost smacking against the building. Naruto gave a faint laugh,

"Uh, this may take longer than I thought…"

He said, scratching the back of his head.

Soon, the sound of rushing water broke through the chorus of birds. Sora still was having a difficult time keeping up with Naruto, but he was doing quite abit better. Naruto stopped, glancing back at Sora as he leapt from branch to branch.

"Good! Your getting better spikes! Come on, relax abit! Its just like running on the ground, except higher up!"

Naruto said before turning and continuing on ahead. Sora shook his head slightly,

"Heh, except higher up…a lot higher up…"

He said as he sped up abit.

Naruto jumped down, landing beside the river and looking around. There was a shout as Sora fell, managing to land on his feet beside Naruto. Naruto turned to him,

"See, its not to hard. You have a knack for it, all you need is a little more practice and you'll be able to keep up with me."

Sora smiled, trying to hide how hard he was breathing. He wasn't out of shape, he just wasn't able to keep up with Naruto's boundless energy. Naruto started looking around again, his eyes squinted.

"Hey! Sakura, Sasuke!"

He called out. There was no reply, and Naruto crossed his arms,

"Hmm…weird. Maybe we're early."

He then shrugged,

"Oh well, we'll just wait then. I can teach you some jutsu that will help you control your chakra if ya want."

Sasuke shook his head as he walked out through the trees, hands in his pockets. Sakura followed close,

"That's weird, I wonder where Naruto went…I hope hes not-"

Sasuke stopped, and Sakura quickly halted as well.

"Sasuke, whats wrong?"

She asked. Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly, looking ahead. Sakura followed his gaze and blinked.

"Naruto?! Are you kidding me?! You mean hes been here the whole-"

"Whos that with Naruto?"  
Sasuke asked, cutting her off. Sakura suddenly noticed the spiky haired boy with Naruto, wincing slightly as he fell from the tree and onto the ground. Naruto laughed, helping him to his feet.

"I don't know…I've never seen him before."

Sakura said, tilting her head slightly. Sasuke stood still, then walked towards Naruto and the stranger.

Naruto held his hand out to Sora, who took hold of it gratefully. Naruto helped Sora to his feet, laughing a little.

"Wow, you got pretty far up the trunk that time. You just need to remember to land on your feet and not your head spikes."

Sora brushed some leaves off of himself,

"Yeah, I did get a little higher. I think I'm getting the hang of this chakra thing."

Naruto nodded, then his attention averted and he smiled.

"Hey, Sasuke, Sakura! About time you got here!"

He greeted. Sora turned to see a black haired boy, his black eyes narrowed as he walked towards them. Sora could tell that this was Sasuke from what Naruto had said. The girl had bright pink hair and green eyes, and Sora smiled a little at her. But he was surprised as she glared at Naruto,

"You idiot! Sasuke and I were looking for you Naruto!"

She snapped. Naruto smiled faintly,

"You two were looking for me? I thought you two had forgotten about to mission!"

"Its not our mission anymore Naruto. We were trying to find you and tell you, but you were all over the village today."

Sasuke said in monotone. Sakura nodded, then glanced at Sora.

"So, whos this?"

She asked. Naruto stepped back beside Sora, putting his arm around him.

"This here is Sora, but I call him spikes because of his weird hair. I met him dismorning when I was checking out the forest! He was almost snake chow, but I helped him out and gave him a tour of the village and stuff! Hes pretty cool, but he comes from a really small village and doesn't know to much."

"Small village? And what village would that be?"

Sasuke asked, looking over Sora as he eyes rested on his headband.

"Destiny village or somethin' like that."

Naruto said. Sasuke kept his eyes narrowed, his expression emotionless as he started at Sora.

"Destiny village? Strange, I've never heard of it."

Sakura said as she mentally went through the names of all the villages. A sudden rumble of thunder brought their attention to the darkening sky above, and Sakura shivered as a cold breeze came through.

"Yeah, the mission was cancelled, so lets head home before it starts pouring."

She said. Sasuke gave Sora was last look over before he turned and started towards the village. Sakura blinked, looking back.  
"Hey, Sasuke! Wait up!"

She called, running after him. Naruto sighed,

"Man, Sakura always has to run after him…"

He muttered. Sora turned,

"Huh? What'd you say?"

He asked. Naruto looked up,

"Oh, nothing. Hey, Sakuras right. Lets head back to the village."

He took a couple steps, then looked at him.  
"Wait, do you have a place to stay Sora?"

He asked. Sora was about to say yes when he remembered how he had gotten here. He didn't have the Gummi Ship to go back to, and he felt a pang of sadness as he was reminded of why he was here to begin with.

Naruto saw the sad glimmer that came into Sora's eyes and grew concerned,

"Its ok Sora, you can stay at my place."

He said. Sora looked up,

"Wha? Really?"

Naruto nodded, giving Sora a warm smile,

"Yeah, of course! My place isn't to far from here either, so lets go."

He said. Sora smiled, once again feeling happy to have met Naruto. The two turned and walked back towards the village as rain slowly began to fall.


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 4

Episode 4

Rain pounded on the roof, creating a soothing and relaxing tone that was mixed with the occasional thunder rumbling through the night.

Sora lay wide awake in his makeshift bed, his arms folded across his mid section as he gazed silently at the ceiling.

He couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. His mind was racing with what had happened in just the last twenty-four hours, and every time he tried to clear his mind, something else snuck into his conscious.

He felt lonely without Donald and Goofy at his side through his new journey. He had always been with them, and they always came through for him.

He felt worried as he wondered about Riku and Kairi. Just where were they? Somewhere in that castle, but where they alright?

And then he felt anger as he thought of the cloaked figure who had started all of this. Why him? It was always him that people seemed to be after, and it was because of this that the people he cared about were always put in danger.

Sora sighed sadly, wishing his exhaustion would finally pull him into the world of dreams, where he could find refuge, but still his mind churned over what he had learned today. He glanced over at the bed against the wall as Naruto stirred, mumbling something in his sleep as he slept soundly.  
Sora felt a smile come to his face. Naruto had definitely made this whole experience abit easier, if not more enjoyable. The energetic blonde had already promised to teach him some basic jutsu in the morning, and to introduce him to some of the other genin in the village. Naruto had accepted Sora with little resistance, even though he knew little if nothing of whom he was or where he had come from.

Sora shifted and winced as an uncomfortable pain made itself known as it spread through his back. His short training had given him quite a few bruises to remember, especially falling from the tree and onto his back.

He laughed; sure it had hurt, but it was pretty funny too.

Sora closed his eyes after a while, and slowly drifted off into a troubled sleep.

"Hey, Sora! Rise and shine, we gotta get goin'!"

Sora grumbled, pulling the covers over his head. Naruto crossed his arms, a mischievous smile crossing his face.

Sora shouted as he felt Naruto jump on him,

"Up, up, up!"

Naruto laughed, pulling the covers off of Sora. He promptly balled them up and tossed them at Sora playfully. Sora groaned, sitting up and letting the blankets fall to the ground beside him and narrowing his eyes at Naruto.

He was already dressed, his headband tied around his head and his hair as blonde as ever. He blue eyes showed no signs of sleepiness, but instead were brimming with energy. Naruto leapt to his feet, running as Sora threw his pillow at him before standing and stretching. Naruto smiled, picking the pillow up and tossing it onto his bed.

Sora slipped his jacket on, bringing his fingers through his hair to smooth out some of the spikes.

Naruto handed him his headband as he began to explain what he had planned.

"Alright, since you seemed to have a little trouble with the tree jutsu stuff, but you were also getting the hang of it. We can try that again if you want, or I can just go over basic jutsu with you."

Sora tightened the headband around his head, pulling some of the spikes that usually hung in his face over the symbol. He nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, sounds good to me. I just want to learn some cool stuff. How about that shadow cloned jutsu?"

He asked. Naruto laughed,

"Before you can try that you have to learn how to make a single clone Sora."

He said. Sora caught something in Naruto's tone and raised a brow,

"Wait a sec…is it hard to create a clone?"

He asked. Naruto shrugged,

"It was the last jutsu I was able to learn before I could become a genin. It was never my specialty."

He admitted.

"You'll be able to teach me all of this stuff?"

Sora asked, a little skeptic. Naruto nodded, grinning,

"Sure! How hard can it be! I mean if Kakashi was able to teach me this stuff, I'm sure I can teach you Sora!"

The morning was chilly, the ground soaked from last nights storm. Puddles littered the streets of the village, and dew hung heavily on the plants.

Sora shivered slightly, rubbing his arms with his gloved hands in an attempt to rid himself of the goose pimples.

He looked up as a couple birds chirped softly, flying off into the sky.

Naruto didn't seem bothered by the chill of the air however, and Sora guessed it was mainly because he was wearing a long sleeved jacket.

The streets were empty, with only the occasional villager stirring within their shop.

Sora sidestepped around a rather large puddle, seeing the gates that marked the edge of the village up ahead.

Suddenly, a shiver ran through Sora, stopping him dead in his tracks. His eyes widened, and he literally felt as though ice was running through him veins. He whipped around, eyes narrowed and his hand already lighting up with energy as he readied to summon the keyblade. But as he turned, the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come. Sora scanned the buildings, expecting to see someone staring at him, but no one was around.

Sora felt a hand on his shoulder and whipped around, ready to fight only to see Naruto. Naruto blinked, abit surprised by Sora's aggressiveness.

"You ok?"

Naruto asked. Sora paused, glancing back one more time at the village, then looked back at Naruto with a nod.

"Yeah…its nothing, I'm fine."

He said. Naruto nodded slightly before turning and walking onward through the gates. Sora was about to look back again, but stopped himself. He shook it off and followed Naruto.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed, awe struck as Naruto stood near the very top of the tree. He was standing with his feet against the bark, his body horizontal. He turned, looking down at Sora.

"Its really not to hard, you just have to focus on getting to the top. If you focus on falling, then you'll probably fall."

Naruto explained as he walked out onto a branch – hanging upside down. Sora smiled, already excited.

"So, do I just run up?" he asked, walking up to the tree and placing a hand on it.

"Climb it without using your hands."

Naruto said. Sora narrowed his eyes, looking up the trunk of the tree. He stepped back a few feet, keeping his eyes on the tree. He concentrated for a moment, clenched his fist, and then gave a slight shout as he ran forward. He focused, feeling the strange energy pulse through him as he gained speed. He threw his foot forward, a thud sounding faintly as it made contact with the bark. He thrusted his other foot up, now having both feet planted on the trunk now.

He knew he couldn't stay like this though, or he would fall flat on his back like yesterday. Sora quickly put on another burst of speed, running straight up the side of the tree. But he soon felt his speed decreasing, and his grip on the tree slipping. He slowed, sliding slightly, then flipped backwards off the surface of the tree. He landed back down on the ground a little unsteadily, but felt a smile cross his face.

Naruto cheered, clapping his hands from his upside down position on the tree branch.

"Way to go Sora! You got a lot higher this time!"

He said. Sora looked up, slightly out of breath.

"I keep feeling this weird energy build up when I focus…is that what chakra is?"

Naruto nodded, crossing his arms.  
"Yep! That's what keeping your feet on the tree is your chakra!"

Sora let this process for a moment, nodding.

Naruto suddenly landed right in front of Sora, making him jump slightly.

"Alright, lets call that a warm-up! Now lets practice some basic jutsu, then we can head in for lunch."

Sora put his hands together, creating the hand signs Naruto had showed him as Naruto threw a small stone at him. Sora was hit dead on by the stone in the head, but with a poof of smoke he was gone, a log in his place. Naruto grinned, thrusting a fist into the air,

"Way to go! Perfect replacement jutsu!"

He shouted, giving a thumbs up. Sora smiled, jumping down from the branches of a large tree behind Naruto.

"That wasn't too hard, only took me a couple hours."

He said, rubbing his head from where previous stones had made their mark. Naruto turned and nodded,

"Yeah, but still pretty good. Now we can try the clone jutsu."

He walked towards Sora, putting his hands together,

"It goes like this."

He said, making three hand signs before he poofed, and two Naruto stood in front of Sora. Sora grinned,

"Whoa, that's awesome!"

He said, already excited. Naruto nodded,

"Yep, and its pretty useful too. Just try it, then will head in to the village for a break."

Sora stepped back, trying to remember exactly what hand signs Naruto had used. There were twelve hand signs, one for each of the zodiac animals, and they seemed to be a main key in any kind of jutsu here in Konoha. Sora made the hand signs, focusing on his chakra,

"Clone Jutsu!"

He shouted. There was a poof of smoke that blurred Sora's vision for a moment, but he quickly turned his attention to his right to see his clone. His smile vanished as it was replaced with a look of surprise and embarrassment. He had made a clone alright, but it was slumped over on the ground, its eyes round and its tongue hanging out of its mouth. It looked kind of like him, except for the lack of color…and the face.

Sora felt himself turn red, and he shook his head. Naruto shrugged, his clone poofing away,

"Eh, first time. Don't worry; you just need to practice abit more."

Sora watched his clone disappear as well,

"Yeah…a lot of practice…" he muttered. He had been so happy when he had finally nailed the replacement jutsu, but now this jutsu seemed even harder than that one.

Naruto walked up to Sora, placing a hand on his shoulder,

"Aw, don't worry about it Spikes! Lets head in and grab some ramen, and then we can come back and practice more, alright?"

Sora nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued to remember how bad his clone had been,  
"Yeah, ramen sounds good."

He said finally.

"Riku?"

Riku looked up from his bed, quickly getting to his feet. A hand was visible at his gate, and he walked forward, putting his face against the cold steel.

"Kairi, did you see anything?"

He asked through the bars. Kairi shook her head, though Riku couldn't see this with the stone wall in between them,

"No, and I don't think there's anyone else down here Riku. I almost got my entire body through the bars, but I could see was darkness towards the ends of this hallway."

Riku sighed, shaking his head.

"Damn…we need to get out of here…."

He said, gripping the bars that imprisoned him tightly.

"But how did we get here in the first place? All I remember was the storm, and then I woke up lying on the cold floor...and what happened to Sora? Why isn't he down here?"

She asked, her questions voicing Riku's own.

"Sora was taken by the darkness, that's the last I saw of him. Then, everything around me grew dark, and I only remember hearing a few strange voices before waking up in this damn cell."

Riku said. He closed his eyes, and their was a silence between the two. Kairi finally gave a sad sigh that caught Riku's attention,

"I just hope he's ok."

She said. Riku let his eyes fall to the floor,

"I do to Kairi."

He replied sadly.

Sora and Naruto both slowed as they heard shouts from ahead. They stepped through the gates, only to see the village was awake and thriving, people flooding the streets. But many had troubled looks on their faces, and their were several groups of woman bunched together, fear in their eyes. Naruto raised a brow, his curiosity already pulling at him.

"Naruto, what's going on?"  
Sora asked, confused. Naruto shrugged,

"I don't know…come on, we might get some info at the ramen stop."

He said, walking ahead.

Sora once again felt the burn of stares as people narrowed theirs eyes at them. But he noticed that most of the glares went from Naruto to him, and people would shake their heads. But why? Why did people look at Naruto like that?

He didn't understand it, and it just made him angry as they continued along through the village until finally making it to the ramen stop. But Naruto halted, Sora almost running into him from lack of attention. Naruto smiled,

"Hey, Kakashi sensei!"

He called, waving a hand in the air. Sora looked ahead, and saw a gray haired man walking. The man was obviously Kakashi, as he stopped and looked up as Naruto called him. Though the bottom half of his face was covered by a mask, Sora could tell he smiled as he walked towards them,

"Oh, there you are Naruto. I was wondering if you would come to the ramen stop for lunch today, and I guess I was right."

Sora could tell this man had to be higher rank, for he wore what resembled a uniform. But he noticed that Kakashi had his headband pulled down so that it covered his left eye.

"Yep! Sora and I were out training, but we came in to grab some lunch!"

He said, grinning. Kakashi turned his gaze to Sora, who smiled and waved slightly.

"Sora? I don't think we've met before."

He said, giving him the same smile. Naruto nodded,

"Nope, Sora's here visiting, Kakashi sensei! He's from another village, but don't tell anyone. They seem to stare at him a lot when his headbands visible, but I fixed that by covering it with his spiky hair."

Naruto explained. Kakashi put a hand forward, gently moving Sora's hair out of the way to see the village symbol engraved on his headband. He blinked, obviously confused.

"Another village you say? Strange, I've never seen this symbol before."

Kakashi admitted as he pulled his hand back, letting Sora's bangs cover the symbol once again. He seemed ready to begin asking questions, but Naruto jumped in.  
"Hey, sensei, what's with all the freaked out people today? Did something happen?"

He asked, his smile fading slightly. Kakashi looked back at Naruto,

"Oh, yes that. There were several kidnappings reported dismorning, all of them being young women."

Both Naruto and Sora's eyes widened faintly,  
"What?! Kidnapped! You've got to be kidding, who would do that?!"

Naruto asked. Kakashi shrugged slightly,

"We don't know yet, but we're already searching for them. Its nothing to worry about, we'll get it sorted out in no time."

He stated. Sora paused, remembering the strange feeling he had had dismorning when they had come to the gates. Was that what he had felt? But did that mean the kidnappings had something to do with him?

"Anyway, I've got some business to attend to. You two enjoy your lunch."

Kakashi said with a nod before walking past them. Sora and Naruto exchanged looks, watching Kakashi leave before Naruto shook his head.

"I cant believe that…I hope the creep who kidnapped those girls gets one heck of a pounding!"

He said, slamming his fist into his hand to emphasize. Sora nodded, though he still had a strange feeling as he and Naruto walked towards the ramen stop.


End file.
